A northern Kentucky woman believes she is the smallest woman who ever gave birth to such a large baby.

Stacey Herald, 33, gave birth five weeks ago to an 18-inch daughter who is not much smaller than her mother.

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I'm 28 1/2 inches, head to heel, said Herald, who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Heralds 16-month-old daughter, Katira, also suffers from the genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily, but her youngest daughter, Makaia, is expected to grow to average height.

'Yesterday I was five weeks old, (and) I'm already over half as big as my mommy, said Herald, changing her infant daughters diaper.

Officials from the Guinness Book of World Records are investigating Heralds claim as she savors the joys of motherhood with her husband, Wil Herald, who is studying to become a minister.

My whole life I've been told that I wasn't able to have children, (and) I would not live through the pregnancy  that with the size of my torso, the baby would grow up underneath my lungs and smother out my lungs and my heart, and we would both die, Herald said.

Something inside me just didn't believe that, she said.

When Herald became pregnant with Katira, they warned that she and the baby would be endangered and they advised her to schedule an abortion.

We said, 'No, we're not doing that, and my doctor  I love her to death, she's so sweet  she said, 'Okay, she said, We'll do it. We'll provide the best medical care we provide. You provide the faith and we'll see what happens, Herald said.

If I laid down, I looked like a snail, she said, laughing. That's how big my belly was. I looked like an Idaho potato with arms and legs.

She kept laughing as she recalled her late-stage pregnancy.

You couldn't see my feet, Herald said. You know, my legs are there you know, but my belly came out so long, that all you could see was a belly with toes."

Although she laughs easily about past difficulties, Herald is aware that her condition creates unique challenges as her children grow up.

"The only thing that I cannot do for my children is, like, if they want from the swing to the bed or the bed to the swing, or, like, picking them up, Herald said. Now, Makaia I can  for now. I'm sure she'll be carrying me one day."

Herald said she's been in contact with the Guinness Book of World Records, which is investigating her smallest woman/largest baby claim.